M-commerce sales hit £7.5bn in 2012, which has been branded the year in which “mobile truly arrived” by internet trade body IMRG.

Mobile sales accounted for 12% of overall etail revenue, compared to 4% of online spend in 2011, according to the IMRG Capgemini Quarterly Benchmarking.

However, there was a “considerable slowdown” towards the end of 2012 in both sales and visits and figures fell short of estimates made halfway through the year when the popularity of the channel were rocketing.

Mobile sales doubled between the first and fourth quarter from 8.2% of overall online sales to 15.4%, however signs halfway through the year indicated revenue could reach 20% of sales.

Capgemini vice-president of consumer products and retail Chris Webster said: “We have seen a clear division in the mobile channels, with shoppers four times more likely to purchase an item on a tablet device over a smartphone.”

“The slowdown suggests there is an issue with the customer experience retailers are offering. If retailers are to reinvigorate the level of adoption, they must recognise the difference in the mobile channels and build specific customer experiences for the smartphone.”

Meanwhile,eBay this week predicted that it will make more than $20bn in mobile sales in 2013, compared to $13bn last year.

EBay senior director for mobile Olivier Ropars said: “Our forecast is ambitious, but I believe we are yet to see the full potential that mobile can offer the UK retail economy.”

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